19th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C (2025)
19th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
Wisdom 18:6-9
Psalm 33:1, 12, 18-19, 20-22 (12b)
Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19
Luke 12:32-48
August 10, 2025
Jesus says to us, “Do not be afraid any longer.”
What makes you afraid? How do you respond to the fear?
Whatever leads you to fear, how do you respond? Do you run and hide? Do you build up what you fear not having? How much? Is your response reasonable? Does your response show any trust in Jesus?
The “Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.” Are you willing to “sell your belongings and give alms” because you trust the Lord or do you hoard things? Is this greed or a lack of trust?
Why cause yourself excessive concern for earthly things when God offers you an “inexhaustible treasure in heaven?”
The eleventh chapter of Hebrews (today’s reading skips some verses) tells of the faith of some of our ancestors. These people “died in faith” without seeing all the promises God had made fulfilled in their lifetime. They did not give up. They had faith. In faith, they had patience.
They prayed for good things but they did not lose faith when they did not receive what they wanted, when they wanted it. They knew the Lord might not end a famine immediately but they had faith to trust that our Lord would “preserve them in spite of famine.”
We are a people that our Lord has chosen “for his own inheritance.” Thus, we can “hope for his kindness” in which He will deliver us from death.
Abraham is a great example of faith. When God told him to go to a place that Abraham did not know, Abraham went because he trusted God. He didn’t know where he was going. It was a land promised to him by God but it was a foreign (unknown) land to him. He did let fear of the unknown control him because he knew that if it was where God wanted him to be, God would provide all he needed.
Abraham was human. So, while his faith was great it was not perfect. God had promised him a son. When Sarah passed her childbearing years without giving birth, Abraham still trusted God but assumed he needed to do something to make it happen. Yet, his heir Isaac would be born from Sarah by the power of God to generate.
Abraham’s faith faced a great test when God told him to sacrifice Isaac. It was difficult but Abraham trusted God in faith.
It is not always easy to trust and live as disciples of our Lord. Jesus knows this. He calls us to vigilance when He says, “Gird your loins and light your lamps.” He calls to be “ready to open immediately” when our master comes.
Some people think they can live however they want and just be ready at the end. The problem with this is, just as the householder who did not know when the thief was coming, we don’t know when the Son of Man will come again. How can we be ready at the appointed time when we don’t know when the end will come?
When we have waited a long time for something, we are tempted to slack off, thinking we can enjoy ourselves for a while and then get our affairs in order. Jesus speaks of those who will begin to beat their servants, “to eat and drink and get drunk.”
What difference does it make if you drink a few beers and have some fun? You may think you can make up for it lately but what if the Lord comes while you are drunk? Will you recognize his coming? Even if you do, in the midst of your drunkenness, or for those who don’t drink in the midst of whatever sin you have, will you recognize Jesus? Will you respond to his coming with true repentance or will you continue in your sin?
Before you rush to say that you would repent, why wait? Why not repent now?
God has given you faith. He expects you to respond in faith. Then, He will give you a greater faith.
Peace,
Fr. Jeff